As much as people would like to believe that Shanghai is China's seat of architecture glory, Beijing has its own share of architectural glory; it's status as the political center of China has forced investment in a city that deemed to be the showcase of the Chinese nation; its architecture reflected a form of rising standing as a modern power. Beijing is home to some of the most exciting architecture in the nation and I will showcase and analyze them:
Digital Building Beijing
The advent of the digital age has inspired this building which stands near the Olympic Green. Designed by new upcoming architecture firm Pei Zhu. One of the first buildings commissioned during the Olympic Games period in Beijing, this building housed the Olympic media crops. As the office for the Olympic media, this building is hugely significant that it exemplify the free spirit of the media and the importance that technology has on improving those media. For this, the Digital Building in Beijing has earned itself as one of the most technology and futuristic savvy buildings in Beijing.
The National Center for the Performing Arts
This architectural piece, designed by French Architect Paul Andreu exemplifies the post modernist architectural trend - it's clear free forming, almost yin-yang style composition symbolically captures not only the emotional, open context of dance to which it houses. This free formed structure is embedded in a pool of water which furthered the analogy of open movement; it added to spirit of freedom to which performing arts employ. As Bruce Lee claimed, "be water". The fact that the structure houses the performing arts demonstrated the need to improvise - therefore unwise to model the structure after any predefined parameters - because dancing is limitless. Paul Andreu's structure is epitomize the free spirit of dancing and the performing arts.
The CCTV headquarters
This structure was commissioned for the Chinese Central Television Network by Rem Koolhas and Old Scheeren of architectural firm OMA. Known as the Chinese Central Television Network Headquarters, this building's oddly asymmetrical composition appears to defy gravity - which defined this structure's design. Fittingly for housing the largest television network in China, this structure's protruding ceiling delivers the psychological effect of being bigger than its by capping the visitors vision as they approach the structure's facade. Also notable would be the cross hatching pattern shown on the surface of the building - they help distinguish itself even more fully by diverging from the configuration of placing glass panels parallel to to the ground; instead the glass panels were placed in a diamond configuration that enhances the engineering capabilities of the structure (see the Hearst Tower in New York City) This is an excellent of the forward nature of the Chinese capital; reflecting its rise as one of the architectural hubs of the world.
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